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ReferencesDisclaimers
Though information is given on edibility and medicinal uses, I have not included detailed instructions for safe preparation, or information about poisonous lookalikes. This means do NOT use this site as your only resource for eating wild plants. If you are interested in edible plants and wish to explore them further, I recommend a Peterson Field Guide "Edible Wild Plants" from Houghton Mifflin Publishing.Why
This site began as a way to combat the war against wild plants on people's lawns. I was perplexed why people would spend time planting flowers that needed effort to maintain while eradicating the natural growth several feet away. Nature is trying to give a gift to us and all we need to do is accept it. Not long ago, people in the US depended on many of these plants for food and medicine. Now few of us even know the common names let alone the lore and uses for them. Even when we are traveling by car, we can enjoy identifying the many flowering plants that occur all around us.Contents Summary
As of 5/2000, there are 24 different plants listed here in three different areas (by habitat) with the most recent addition being Marsh Marigold and new pictures for Violet, Trillium and Skunk Cabbage. To help test how much you have learned from the site, I have included an identification quiz using the common plant names. I also expanded the references section to allow you to order books that I have used to gather information online.What to expect in the future
Contact Information
- New Sections - Two new areas are in the works: Nonflowering and Aquatic. I hope to have the beginning of the Nonflowering section up by July and the Aquatic by the end of the summer.
- More Flowers - I have tons of pictures (many yet to be identified) that need to be added. I am very interested in getting Purslane and Plantain in "Disturbed Areas" and False Solomon's Seal in the "Forest" section among others.
- New Quizzes - Soon I will copy and modify the existing quiz to identify plants by their scientific name. I plan on changing the format so the questions and answers appear in random order. Then I plan to construct a new quiz to test knowledge of the lore, edibility and medicinal uses of the plants on this site.
- Games - I am developing a "Wild Plant Tic-Tac-Toe" as a travel game.
- Slideshow - My presentation of wetland plants is done and works pretty well. I will link it to the home page soon, but you may view it now.
- Families - I will be putting the basic characteristics of each plant family represented on the site to be linked from each plant's page or browsed on its own.
This site is created and maintained by one person, Chris Broski, who should probably find a hobby that makes him more money. Contact me with questions, comments, suggestions, and the like at rbdweasel@yahoo.com.